August 3, 2010

State Controller Takes Quick Action to Prevent Another City of Bell Debacle

We applaud State Controller John Chiang's move as reported in the LA Times below (as well as the Controllers own press release below) as it gets around legislative wrangling, delay and various city groups lobbyists that are tying to let this Bell furor calm down so they can water down the financial reporting rules and go back into hiding like before. We say it again and again and again. Secrecy breeds mistrust and ultimately corruption as was the case in Bell. Its not the impropriety but the "appearance of impropriety" that has most residents upset. Its taxpayers money plain and simple. Their needs to be transparency and accountability. Quite frankly we are afraid even Controller Chiang's rules will get watered down. They also will not likely cover the pension information these fat cats will be raking in from cities other than the one they retire from or all the "side perks" not really on the books like lifetime "Cadillac" health insurance, outrageous cars allowances, free cell phones and blackberries all used for personal business. But its a start.

Controller Requires Cities, Counties to Report Salaries of Government Officials
PR10:27
8/3/2010
Contact: Jacob Roper
916-445-2636

SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang today announced new reporting requirements for all California cities and counties, directing them to clearly identify elected officials and public employees’ compensation. The information will be posted on the Controller’s website, starting in November.

“The absence of transparency is a breeding ground for waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars,” said Chiang. “A single website with accessible information will make sure that excessive pay is no longer able to escape public scrutiny and accountability.”

The new reporting requirements come after the City of Bell reportedly spent $1.6 million annually on just three city employees, and nearly $100,000 for each part-time City Councilmember. At the request of the City of Bell’s Interim City Administrative Officer, the Controller ordered an audit of Bell’s finances last week.

Under current law, local governments are required to transmit summary information about their revenues and expenditures to the State Controller’s office. Payroll information is included in the total amount listed for each category of program, such as public protection, health and welfare, and governing body. The data is compiled and used to produce annual reports for the Legislature. The Controller’s new rules require cities and counties to provide the salaries for each classification of elected official, such as mayor and supervisor, and public employee, such as city manager and county administrator.

City and counties generally are required to provide the information to the Controller by mid-October of each year. The Controller’s website will be updated annually to reflect the most recent data received. Local governments who fail to report timely could face a penalty of up to $5,000.

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/08/in-wake-of-bell-scandal-state-controller-to-require-that-cities-disclose-pay-in-state-financial-repo.html
In wake of Bell salary scandal, state controller to require that cities disclose pay in financial reports
August 3, 2010 | 12:58 pm

In the continuing fallout from the Bell salary scandal, State Controller John Chiang announced Tuesday that he would overhaul city financial reporting requirements to require that salary information for elected officials and other employees be clearly stated. The information would be posted on his office’s website beginning in November, he said.

The action comes as a Times analysis found that Bell’s reports to the state in recent years have shown that costs for its legislative activities, including City Council salaries, declined sharply since 2005, at a time when overall council compensation rose to nearly $100,000 for part-time work.

“The absence of transparency is a breeding ground for waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars,” said Chiang, who is running for re-election. “A single website with accessible information will make sure that excessive pay is no longer able to escape public scrutiny and accountability.”

The new requirements follow reports by The Times that Bell spent $1.6 million annually on just three city employees, including nearly $800,000 on the city manager. Council members drew pay for serving on multiple city panels, some of which met at the same time or for as little a minute.

Under current law, local governments must transmit summary information about their revenues and expenditures to the state, which goes into reports the controller prepares for the Legislature and posts on the internet. Payroll information is included in total amounts spent on various government functions, such as police, but not itemized separately.

The new rules, which Chiang said would be issued in the coming weeks, will require compensation figures for each category of local official, including council members and city managers.

“We have to make sure people aren’t moving categories or hiding what they are being paid,” Chiang said in an interview. “We want to put it in a format people understand.” Bell reported a total of just $34,483 in spending for its legislative activity in 2007-08, far below the total of council compensation alone.

The apparent disparity is "obviously a question that needs an answer," Chiang said.

-- Rich Connell


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